Weekend Wonder - Winter hiking on Streap
Published in Adventure Travel magazine as part of regular material I created for their ‘Weekend Wonders’ feature.
My first sighting of Streap, a superb, 909m high Corbett in the West Highlands of Scotland, was on a 6-day backpacking adventure in 2010 from Glen Shiel to Glenfinnan, when a friend and I followed part of Scotland's epic Cape Wrath Trail. After I returned home, a paragraph in Ralph Storer's classic book, '100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains', which highlighted Streap's narrow summit ridge "should be left well alone by the inexperienced" continued to intrigue me over the years.
David Hetherington traverses a snowy ridge on Streap in the West Highlands of Scotland
In February 2016, I finally organised a visit to Streap. The weather forecast was excellent and we spent a great two nights in Gleann Dubh-Lighe bothy, trekking on snow-covered slopes through the day beneath a clear blue sky in temperatures that remained, pleasantly, well below freezing.
Ralph Storer was right. In poor weather, you'll need top-notch navigation skills to steer yourself through Streap's complex, craggy bluffs and its steep-sided, narrow arete demands caution all the way to the summit. On a nice day, the difficulties are slight and the ridge is simply awesome, with just the right amount of awkward terrain to keep your interest and incredible views - south-east to Ben Nevis and north-west out to the islands of Eigg, Rum and the Skye Cuillin.
Streap is an outstanding hill. We paired it up with an ascent of Streap Comhlaidh and another Corbett, Braigh nan Uamhachan, completing a round trip of ‘feet in front of the bothy fire’ to 'feet in front of the bothy fire’ of 12 hours (our slowness in part due to being hampered by deep snow). In Winter or Summer, you should find it's an excellent day out.
How to get there
Take a train, bus or car from Fort William to Glenfinnan. Roughly 3km south-east of Glenfinnan, just west of the bridge over the Dubh-Lighe river, a turn-off north leads uphill to a small public car park. From here, OS Landranger map 40 (Mallaig & Glenfinnan, Loch Shiel) and OS Explorer map 398 (Loch Morar & Mallaig) both cover the approach to Streap via the quiet highland glen, Gleann Dubh-Lighe.
Where to stay
Fort William and Corpach are obvious choices. Glenfinnan has a quirky bunkhouse - check out www.glenfinnanstationmuseum.co.uk. If you’re looking for more rustic accommodation, the bothy in Gleann Dubh-Lighe is maintained by the Mountain Bothy Association (www.mountainbothies.org.uk). In 2011, the building was accidentally burnt down when a leaky gas cartridge caught fire. In 2013, it was rebuilt by MBA volunteers.